More children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds are accessing and attending kindergarten, thanks to council-led outreach programs supported by the state government.
Supporting councils, including Brimbank, to run engagement activities and employ outreach workers, grants totalling $3.5 million have backed children and families from CALD backgrounds to access and attend kindergarten, connect with other early childhood supports and transition successfully to primary school, the government said.
CALD outreach teams work across communities to help CALD families access early childhood services in their local area, including visiting playgroups, libraries and community hubs, assisting families with kindergarten enrolment, organising information sessions and working with educators to address attendance barriers.
The Municipal Association of Victoria is receiving funding to support council-led outreach programs and activities, and share key learnings and insights with all councils statewide.
A further $800,000 in funding over two years is also supporting bicultural workers from the Brotherhood of St Laurence to deliver targeted outreach to CALD families living in public housing in the cities of Maribyrnong, Melbourne, Moonee Valley and Yarra through the Family Learning Support Program.
Since 2020, the program has worked with families from Eritrean, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Somali, Pakistani, Turkish, Sudanese and Pacific Islander backgrounds, with a full suite of translated resources and free interpreters available to support Victoria’s multicultural communities to engage with kindergarten.
“Children from multicultural communities – like every child – have so much to gain from two years of kindergarten, and we’re giving families from diverse backgrounds access to the very best early childhood education, Premier Daniel Andrews said.
